Last night was the annual Blue and Gold banquet for Cub Scouts. Our pack also held a talent show! I decided that a Taekwondo demonstration would be perfect to showcase their (one) talent. IJ has been fighting participating in anything because of how shy he is, but I knew (from experience) how performing on a stage really helps... Plus he is a boy in a group of boys doing something super cool that most boys don't get to do: break boards! I really hoped that this would be what IJ needed to help him make friends and feel comfortable with his peers.
So M got busy creating a demonstration for the boys that included some handwork, poomse, and board breaks. Even before the talent show started and IJ and S were in their TKD uniforms, the other Cub Scouts were curious. IJ came up to me and said, "The other boys think I'm awesome and I haven't even done anything yet!" I could see his confidence increasing as the night (and the other talent) wore on. IJ even hung out with the other boys instead of with me!
M introduced the boys by saying, "Some kids can play music, some can tell jokes, but my wife and I knew from the earliest days that our boys were very talented at breaking things." He then led the boys in their routine. I expected IJ to choke up a bit at the start of the routine, until he got into the groove and found familiarity in the routine. I just hoped he wouldn't start crying. But he never did! And when the boys started breaking boards (each broke four), well, it was AWESOME! The boys are nearly black belts and can do all sorts of double and spinning kicks, and these made their demonstration even cooler! When they were done and had bowed, the kids rushed the stage and asked if they could keep the broken pieces of board. M let them. There was a mad scramble as Scouts and siblings grabbed pieces of broken board! My boys were ROCK STARS!
Watch out world! IJ has arrived!
